| Junior Pat Heim was been named to the 2006 ECAC Lacrosse Preseason All-League Team. Heim and teammate Nate Whitaker earned two of the nine spots on the squad, which is voted on by the league's eight head coaches. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; February 22, 2006 - Penn State Nittany Lion men's lacrosse players Nate Whitaker (Great Falls, Va.) and Pat Heim (Wayne, Pa.) have been named to the 2006 ECAC Lacrosse Preseason All-League team. The duo received two of the nine slots on the squad, which is voted on by the league's eight head coaches.
Whitaker, a senior co-captain, is one of four attackmen on the team. He returns as Penn State's leading scorer from last season, netting 44 points off 31 goals and 13 assists (both team highs as well). Whitaker is also carrying a 42-game scoring streak, which began the first game of his freshman year.
Heim, a junior, was a 2005 All-ECAC Lacrosse first team pick last year after scoring 33 points off 22 goals and 11 assists. He and Whitaker are both Inside Lacrosse honorable mention preseason All-Americans this year as well.
Massachusetts senior Sean Morris was named Preseason Offensive Player of the Year while Jack Reid, also of Massachusetts, was named Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Penn State opens up its regular season this coming Sunday with a 1 p.m. game at Notre Dame. The Nittany Lions, under the guidance of veteran head coach Glenn Thiel, are coming off a 9-6 season that saw them win a share of the ECAC Lacrosse title with a 5-1 league record and earn their second trip to the NCAA Championship Tournament in the last three years.